Here, my friends, is another reader favorite: America by the numbers.
Alcohol is linked to 88,000 deaths a year, including those caused by drunk driving and violent behavior. It is also responsible for more than 4.6 million visits to the emergency room. Tobacco is responsible for the deaths of 500,000 Americans every year. It is interesting to note that the two deadliest drugs in America are both legal.
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My fellow Americans, how do you feel about waterboarding and torture? My president tells us that this is not what we are. Well sir, I disagree. Perhaps this wasn’t what we are, but when your so-called “junior varsity” cuts off the heads of those in captivity, I believe that it is time to do whatever is necessary to get information about the other bad guys — how many there are, what they are doing, and where they are.
Donald Trump and I are not the only Americans that feel this way. Right now, the majority of Americans agree, according to Reuters. The most recent poll, taken in the wake of the current terrorist attacks in Belgium, tell us that 63 percent of people in the United States feel that torture is acceptable, while only 15 percent say that it is never okay.
The 15 percent will change their minds as soon as they are attacked in their neighborhood.
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Hedge Funds seem to be going by the boards. In 2014, 864 Hedge Funds closed their doors. In 2015 that number increased to 979. The fourth quarter of 2015 saw the smallest number of new hedge fund openings since 2009. Lots of finance employees are asking about new jobs. Lots of non-finance folks are asking, what’s a hedge fund?
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Bill O’Reilly’s bestselling book, “Killing Reagan,” is approaching 1,200,000 copies sold. How much money do you think he earned for it?
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A recent poll by market-research firm YouGov tells us that 41 percent of Democrats are in favor of changing the constitution, while 43 percent are fine with the way it is. So are 68 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Americans in general. Lots of folks want changes, but they don’t tell us what changes they want. What do you want?
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An 45 percent of Americas pay no income tax. That’s balanced by you and me, who pay more than what we think is our “fair share.” I am successful, and I pay a lot. Why do I pay a lot? Because when I started, I worked my ass off. I postponed my first year in college to work two full-time jobs so that I could save enough money for tuition.
Then after I graduated, I went into business and worked 80 consecutive 12-hour days before I took my first day off. My gargantuan efforts paid off, and now I am forced to share part of my wealth with the 45 percent who pay nothing to my government. Any questions? I can be reached at the e-mail address below.
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Google the following three words: “hire a veteran”. Your screen will be filled with programs and words such as “jobs for veterans,” “how to hire a veteran,” “jobs for disabled veterans,” and “federal jobs for veterans.” Do these programs work? You betcha they do. Last year ended with a veteran unemployment rate of 4.6 percent.
That, my American patriotic friends, is the lowest unemployment rate for U.S. veterans in seven years. The various programs are working, and so are our heroes. I am StanG
